Revisiting Allende’s election in 1970: what surveys performed at the time reveal

Abstract

The election of Allende as president of Chile in 1970, whose government was overthrown three years later by a military coup, is the subject of this article. The period prior to Allende’s election is studied, emphasizing the perspective of ordinary people, examining on the one hand the legitimacy of the political system and, on the other hand, the perceptions about social justice. The databases of surveys applied in the electoral period by one of the founders of sociology in Chile are analyzed. The analysis of these data allows an approach to the aspirations of people facing the country’s problems before the presidential election. When comparing the micro or individual level on the surveys, with the political discourse at the macro or societal level, the study helps to reexamine the period.

Salvador Allende; Chile; Legitimity; Social justice; Surveys